The Mongol Storm by Nicholas Morton

Author:Nicholas Morton [Morton, Nicholas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Basic Books
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

With perils on every side, Baybars seized the initiative and asserted himself vigorously on several fronts. By the end of 1261, he controlled the three centre points of the former Ayyubid Empire: Aleppo, Damascus, and Cairo. It had taken Saladin roughly fifteen years to acquire simultaneous control over all these cities during the twelfth century; Baybars achieved this feat in months. In 1261 he also began raiding the principality of Antioch, a Mongol tributary. He staged a second attack against the principality the following year, briefly besieging the city itself, the Mamluks pulling back only after receiving news of inbound Mongol-Armenian reinforcements.

Baybars then advanced with another army into Palestine, raiding the kingdom of Jerusalem and then securing a peace agreement with the Franks in Acre, effectively neutralising the threat from this quarter. He also asserted his authority over the remaining fragments of Ayyubid territory in 1263 by seizing control of the castle of Kerak in the Transjordan region. In addition, he flattered Syria’s Bedouin tribes with gifts and concessions whilst suppressing those that continued to offer support to the kingdom of Jerusalem.21 The relentless quality of Baybars’s campaigning and diplomacy in these early years proved decisive. By 1263, both Syria and Egypt lay firmly under his control.

On the other side of the frontier, Hulegu remained determined to strike a blow against the Mamluks, but for many years the Ilkhans would be hampered by other concerns. In the immediate aftermath of Ayn Jalut, Hulegu offered little response, being too preoccupied with the affairs surrounding the succession to the Great Khan Mongke.22 The defeat at Ayn Jalut also emboldened the Mongols’ other enemies, and rebels began to appear across their territories. Kurdish groups became more ambitious, and in 1262 they tried to seize the town of Irbil (near Mosul). Their attempt failed, but the prospect of Kurdish rebellion and raids remained a constant danger. Further rebellions broke out within Turkmen territories, known as beyliks, in Seljuk Anatolia in 1261 and in Shiraz (southern Persia) in 1264.

There were also problems in the great city of Mosul (in modern-day northern Iraq). Up until 1261, the Zangids of Mosul had worked hard to maintain Hulegu’s approval in order to safeguard their city from Mongol reprisals, but this policy did not last. The Zangid ruler, Badr al-Din Lulu, died in 1261, and his son and heir believed that he could now resist Mongol authority. To this end he courted aid from Sultan Baybars in Egypt, who sent him a strong group of reinforcements. The Mongols learned of this collaboration soon afterwards and moved immediately to besiege Mosul. They surrounded the city with a wooden rampart and initiated a heavy barrage, pouring missiles into the city. Despite repeated assaults, the siege dragged on. Mosul was a major city with a huge population. Its defences posed a serious military obstacle.

Then the Mamluks sent a relief army to lift the siege. As this force closed upon Mosul, the Mamluk commander sent a carrier pigeon to its beleaguered defenders, announcing his imminent arrival.

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